[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 135 (Thursday, October 2, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1907]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO RON MORRIS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DAVID DREIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 30, 1997

  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to recognize Ron Morris who 
participated in CIVITAS@Bosnia and Herzegovina, an intensive program 
from August 1-17, 1997, designed to train teachers from throughout 
Bosnia and Herzegovina with materials and methods developed to educate 
for democracy. Mr. Morris was part of a team of 20 American educators 
who were assigned to 16 locations throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, 
including the Republika Srpska. The Americans teamed with 18 teachers 
from the Council of Europe in nine of these sites. This education for 
democracy program reached 550 teachers from both entities of Bosnia and 
Herzegovina.
  The summer teaching training program was developed by the Center for 
Civic Education as part of a major civic education initiative in Bosnia 
and Herzegovina supported by the U.S. Information Agency and the U.S. 
Department of Education built on a program begun in 1996. The goals of 
the program are to provide teachers with the tools necessary to help 
prepare students and their communities for competent and responsible 
citizenship, including participation in elections and other 
opportunities to take part in the political life of their communities. 
Achieving this goal will contribute to the reconstruction of a sense of 
community, cooperation, tolerance, and support for democracy and human 
rights in this war-torn area.
  I am also pleased to announce that the curricular materials being 
used for the program in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been adapted from 
the We the People * * * the Citizen and the Constitution, Foundations 
of Democracy, and the Project Citizen Programs, which are supported by 
Congress and used in schools throughout the United States. Initial 
reports evaluating the summer program indicate the materials--selected 
and adapted by educators in Bosnia and Herzegovina--and teaching 
methods were enthusiastically received and will be adapted for use in 
classrooms in both entities of the country.
  Ron Morris is a teacher at Arcadia High School in Arcadia, CA. He 
also serves as the district coordinator for the We the People * * * the 
Citizen and the Constitution Program in my home district. A student 
team of constitutional experts from Arcadia High School under the 
leadership of Ron Morris came to Washington, DC, this year to 
participate in the We the People * * * academic competition on the 
Constitution and Bill of Rights. They placed second in the entire 
Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I wish to commend Ron Morris for his dedication and 
commitment during CIVITAS@Bosnia and Herzegovina summer training 
program. His work is helping to achieve the overall objective of 
building democracy in Bosnia and Herzegovina.




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